The Vindicator is an Imperial siege tank based on the Rhino chassis used by many Space MarineChapters that boasts the most powerful weapon of its type in the Adeptus Astartes' standard armoury, the Demolisher Cannon. It is highly valued and can only be issued to company officers whose units have been tasked with a specific tactical requirement. Though short-ranged, the Vindicator's Demolisher Cannon is capable of destroying enemy armour and fortifications in a single shot. The vehicle is an essential part of any armoured spearhead that the Space Marines unleash. The Vindicator is usually deployed during battles that take place in cities or other dense terrain, such as jungles, where the Demolisher Cannon's lack of range does not effect its performance. Much like the Rhino and Predator tanks, the Vindicator is one of the oldest vehicle types still in use by the Imperium.

Contents

History

A Vindicator is protected from attack by its large Siege Shield

As with the Predator, the less-than-complete records of this vehicle's history state that it was first deployed during the
Dark Age of Technology. The reason for the Vindicator's design was the high casualties taken by many human military forces during combat in dense forests and the concrete jungles of urban areas. Some document fragments found in the Librarius Omnis on Mars have indicated that a certain General Vindictus requested the design of a vehicle from the Forge World of Mars with a high calibre weapon that could shatter heavily protected targets with highly angled weapons fire, and at the same time was still mobile enough to keep up with advancing troops. The chassis of the Rhino was used as the foundation for the first Vindicators, with its front refitted with a high calibre weapon and reinforced with thicker armour plating. With this, the transport ability of the Rhino chassis is forfeited for ammunition stowage and a larger engine. These upgrades lowered the top speed of the vehicle, but were necessary for the large cannon to be fitted. More armour plating was added to the top hull to protect the tank from elevated attacks.

The Vindicator's use was recommended by the PrimarchRoboute Guilliman for Space Marine Chapters in the Codex Astartes. As such, all Codex-compliant Chapters make use of the vehicle when engaged in armoured assaults of particularly difficult targets.

Service Record

The hardy Vindicator is built almost exclusively for urban battles where enemies are concealed within reinforced positions, such as large buildings, sewers, etc. The Demolisher Cannon of the Vindicator is used to destroy strong points in the enemy troops' line, take away snipers and smash through thick walls for the Astartes to enter certain buildings. The assault dozer, on the other hand, is used to bulldoze through smaller obstacles in the rough terrain. Gathered in large numbers, Vindicators can unleash massive amounts of damage to any building, if they do not end up demolishing it outright into rubble. The Vindicator carries a fairly large Demolisher Cannon, which launches rocket-assisted shells towards the target at high angles, producing ground-shattering strikes.

Construction

The Vindicator has a very adaptable chassis, compatible with most standard weapons and engines in other Space Marine vehicles. They are produced in Chapter Forges alongside Rhinos. The construction process of a Vindicator includes checking the omens and supplicating the vehicle's Machine Spirit to protect it from proving cranky on the battlefield. While the armour plating is being added, the Demolisher Cannon is blessed by Tech-priests. Each Vindicator takes a very long time to be converted from the Rhino chassis. They are the treasures of their Chapters, with each usually retaining a dozen in its Armoury.

Armament

The Vindicator is armed with a hull-mounted, forwards-firing Demolisher Cannon. This large weapon fires massive, rocket-propelled high-explosive shells that are capable of inflicting great amounts of damage against enemy structures. Several Demolisher Cannon shells fired from this tank are usually more than enough to bring down most buildings. The Vindicator is often used during urban battles, or battles fought in dense terrain such as jungles and forests, so that the weapon's relatively short-range will not affect its performance. The Vindicator is not equipped with any other weapons, but can be equipped with a pintle-mountedStorm Bolter. Due to the size of the Demolisher Cannon and its automatic ammunition loader and storage magazine, there is only room for two crew members, meaning that with a pintle-mounted weapon equipped, either another crew member will be added or one of the existing crew will have to interrupt his previous duty to man the weapon. The Vindicator is usually equipped with an overly large and thick dozer blade known as a Siege Shield, which protects the tank from enemy fire and also allows it to push rubble and debris out of the way so other units can advance. The Vindicator can also be outfitted with several enhancements such as extra armour plating for more protection, a dozer blade if the Vindicator is not equipped with a Siege Shield already, a searchlight, a Hunter-Killer Missile Launcher, and smoke launchers.

Variants

Legion Deimos Pattern Vindicator

The Deimos Pattern is an early type of Vindicator used by the Space Marine Legions during the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy, although many are still operational in the service of Space Marine Chapters in the late 41st Millennium. A powerful assault tank, the Vindicator's principal armament is a heavy-calibre Demolisher Cannon capable of shattering fortifications and breaching the armour plates of tanks with equal ease. It is invaluable in urban warfare as it can blast and shunt its way through barricades and obstacles, enabling troops following behind free passage through streets that might have otherwise swiftly degenerated into kill zones.

Vindicator Laser Destroyer

Tearing through the armour plating of enemy vehicles, the Vindicator Laser Destroyer array was a potent weapon of destruction. First retrofitted into the heavily armoured Deimos Pattern Vindicator chassis during the dark days of the Horus Heresy, several Space MarineLegions took to fielding this variant as a mainline battle tank, proving itself on many occasions as an able tank hunter. After millennia of brutal warfare across the galaxy, it is still in favour within the Space Marine Chapters, the Vindicator Laser Destructor continuing to bring retribution to the enemies of Mankind.

Chaos Vindicator

The Vindicator has been in use by Imperial forces since the Great Crusade, and it has hardly changed since those turbulent days so long ago. The Space Marine Legions that sided with the corrupted Warmaster and Primarch of the Luna Wolves, Horus Lupercal, used their Vindicators against the Loyalist forces of the Emperor during the Horus Heresy. The Traitor Legions used hundreds of Vindicators during their Siege of the Imperial Palace on Terra at the end of the Heresy, where the vehicle's extreme firepower overwhelmed the extensive Imperial fortifications and helped the Traitors get ever closer to the Imperial Palace. After the Horus Heresy ended in a pyrrhic victory for the Emperor's Loyalists, the Traitors fled into the Eye of Terror, and luckily the number of Vindicators they still have in their possession is quite low in the 41st Millennium, due to the Traitor Legions' inability to easily replace their losses. The only Traitor Legion that still commands a large number of Vindicators is the Iron WarriorsLegion and their various warbands. The Iron Warriors maintain a large number of Vindicators, enough to field them in entire squadrons. These vehicles are adorned with statues from cities destroyed by the Iron Warriors. There are rumours of Vindicators that have become corrupted and infected with the power of the Warp, making them all but unstoppable on the battlefield. These Vindicators have nearly impenetrable armour adorned with chains, talismans, and cursed, glowing Chaotic sigils that are driven by no living creature but animated by the possessing spirit of a daemon. The Vindicators under the control of Chaos Space Marine warbands are usually armed with either pintle-mounted twin-linked Bolters (Combi-Bolter) or other Combi-Weapons. Vindicators in use by Chaos and Renegade warbands that have recently betrayed the Imperium, or recently captured Imperial Vindicators, may be armed instead with a Storm Bolter or even a Hunter-Killer Missile Launcher. They can also be armed with a Havoc Missile Launcher, an ancient weapon system that has long fallen out of use in the Imperium. Chaos Vindicators can also be equipped with Siege Shields, destroyer blades, Dirge Casters, extra armour plating, Chaos Icons or Marks, or Warpflame Gargoyles. They may also be possessed by a daemon, or be bestowed with other "gifts" from the Chaos Gods. The Vindicator gives all of its interior troop space over to carrying the ammunition for its Demolisher Cannon and as such cannot transport any passengers.

Notable Users of the Vindicator

Adeptus Astartes - The Space Marines of the Adeptus Astartes are the primary users of the Vindicator, and it is used by every known Chapter. The Space Marines use the Vindicator during urban, jungle, and heavy arboreal battles where its main weapon can destroy enemy infantry hiding in cover.

Chaos Space Marines - The Traitor Legions of Astartes that defected to the service of Chaos during the Horus Heresy and Renegade Astartes newly arrived at their allegiance to the Ruinous Powers use the Vindicator in the same way as Loyalist Astartes; namely as a heavy support vehicle during urban and dense terrain battles.